Tattoos
by Gwaeren
Summary: In junction with the events toward the very end of Blood Tears. Reno/Rude fluffiness. Reading Blood Tears isn't necessary, but would help in understanding. Rating for mild language and mild m/m relationship fluff.


Tattoos - A Blood Tears Universe ficlet. Follows the majority of the events of Blood Tears, melting in with the events toward the end of the fic. Reno/Rude fluff.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my computer and plot bunnies. Feed the bunnies: Review!

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"Sir?" Tseng's head lifted from the sheet of paper he'd been staring at, focusing in surprise at the typically quiet man in sunglasses now standing in his doorway. A slight nod let Rude know that he could speak his mind.

"That new kid... how's he doing?" Tseng frowned almost imperceptibly. The mission they'd been sent on had been a disaster, though through no fault of the two - intelligence given to them had been wrong, and they'd been sent in completely unprepared for what was waiting for them. Rude still bore a few bandages from the event, but Reno...

"He has been quiet since returning. The doctors have treated him, but he's always going to have marks. Still, I don't feel that it's the physical ailments incurred that is bothering him." He glanced to Rude, who had adopted his typical silence. "Did anything happen that might warrant this silence? He never was easy to calm when he was training," the Wutai Turk asked, the faintest hint of trepidation lacing his voice. Had Reno been...

"No, sir," Rude replied, then ammended himself, "not what you're insinuating, at least." He hesitated here, however. Tseng's gaze was piercing.

"What do you mean, 'at least,' Rude? What happened?"

"Our target tortured him, sir, just as he did me. But he..." Rude shook his head, then took a deeper breath. He'd only been paired with the redhead for one mission, yet he felt like he was betraying a life-long partner ... sort of. It -was- for Reno's best interest. "I think the comment about his age made by the target struck a chord in him, sir. I think he took it as a slight to his abilities."

Tseng nodded, glancing at the paper sitting on his desk. "You may be right." Silence held the room for a short while, then Tseng assumed his 'leader' role, straightening a bit and fixing his gaze on his subordinate. "I want you to tail him, Rude. Visit him at home, befriend him, and see where he is, mentally. I want to know how much this has affected him, and whether he'll be capable as one of us in the future."

"Sir!" Rude snapped to attention, nodding sharply. A second later, Tseng gave him a nod of dismissal and the bald Turk left.

* * *

"I'm not gonna off m'self, yanno."

"Hm?"

The redhead eyed his one-time partner, blue eyes darkening slightly, then flinching when the narrow look pulled at the wounds that framed the cheekbone and curved up around the socket.

"Fuck..." he hissed, then sighed and lifted a hand, waving it flippantly as though to dismiss the idea. "I'm not gonna do m'self in, so you can tell Tseng I'm just peachy." He pulled the turkey sandwich he'd been nibbling on to his lips, took a bite, then frowned. "And I'm not quittin', either."

"Good to hear," was the only reply, though it was still enough to earn Rude a wicked smile from the snarky redhead.

"Wow. Mr. Silence said more than one word. Nice, man," the imp teased and Rude couldn't help the slight smirk that appeared on his mouth. "I'm touched."

"In the head."

Reno laughed, and Rude found himself rather close to chuckling himself. "True, true. Never said I was sane. Kinda have to be a little off kilter to be a Turk, though."

Rude nodded. Reno was right in that, at least.

"So. Tseng must want to know more than just whether I'm gonna bite the big one for fucking up the mission, huh?"

Rude's chocolate eyes darkened behind his glasses. Was -that- what Reno thought?

"You didn't mess up, Reno."

The reassurance was met with a self-derisive snort.

"The mission failed, man. Right down the crapper. How do you figure I didn't? You've been successfully completing missions long before I came along. I was the only thing that changed, and the mission bombed. I'd say that's a pretty big fuckup."

So, Tseng was right to send Rude, it would seem. And Rude was right in his observation of his latest partner.

"It was our information, Reno. Not you. But I'm not going to argue about that with you. I doubt you'll believe me, no matter how many times I say it."

Reno's eyes widened at the length of that speech. The fact that Rude had spoken so much in his effort to reassure him was touching, even if he'd been right that Reno didn't believe it. Still, it was moving.

"Thanks... I mean... for trying to make me feel better about it."

Rude sighed. There really was no convincing Reno, was there? Tseng had every right to be worried, it would seem. He was getting ready to leave - to give some excuse to get back to Tseng and tell him that Reno wasn't stable enough at the moment to take on another mission when Reno stared at himself in a nearby mirror, shaking his head a little.

"I failed this time Rude. But... I won't fail again. I can't. I was almost the death of you, and I ..." He shook his head, biting his lower lip harshly till he flinched - breaking skin slightly.

"What is it?"

"I couldn't stand myself if something happened to you. Not because of me." A fingertip traced along the faint scars that edged his eyes, then nodded in determination. "I'm a Turk. It won't happen again. I won't risk YOU again."

With such determination, Rude really couldn't tell whether Reno wasn't capable anymore. It looked like Tseng was right in that Rude would have to truly befriend the kid to learn more.

"The thought's appreciated," Rude finally commented. Reno managed a small smile in return, then looked away from the mirror and over to the bald, sunglasses-wearing Turk.

"Wanna go for a drink?"

Rude snorted. "You even old enough, kid?"

Reno shrugged, then smirked. "Does it matter? They'll serve me. So, you game?"

Rude actually laughed, then nodded and slung an arm over Reno's shoulders. "Let's go"

* * *

The wounds were healing nicely, Rude had to say. But as the scars along Reno's eyes healed more and more, the Redhead seemed to get more and more dejected. As though they were tied into his drive to be a better Turk. He showed up for training, showed up for paperwork, and even went to the bar with Rude nearly every afternoon - but with every day that he healed physically, Rude watched the kid get more and more subdued - even introspective. It didn't feel right.

He reported back to Tseng every morning, letting the Turks leader know just where Reno stood in his training, and his mental state. So far, they hadn't seen anything in the redhead that would show that he would compromise a mission - but they hadn't seen anything that would lead them to believe the contrary, either. Tseng continued to encourage Rude to talk with the kid, and Rude had no complaints about doing so. Reno, despite being somewhat loud-mouthed and in-your-face, was proving to be a very good friend. Despite having his own problems, Reno would lend an ear when Rude had issues with the President, or with the general populace of Midgar - and by the time he was done venting to the redhead, they were typically both laughing about something, the problem either solved or no longer nearly as important as it had seemed to be.

He was lax, but not lazy. His uniform was never done up properly - which Rude noticed gave Tseng a slight tic in his left eye sometimes - and he rarely stood at attention unless the situation demanded it. But he was good at his training, good at fighting, and despite his loathing of it, he even did his paperwork properly. Nevermind that his handwriting looked like chickenscratch. It didn't matter. It was done and proper enough to be read.

It had been nearly a month of this, with Reno continuing to train with the little Turklings every morning, and Tseng giving him more formal training in the afternoon. Rude was sitting with Reno in the bar after work, just before the weekend, nursing a glass of coffee-flavored liquor while Reno mulled over a drink that Rude was positive would glow under UV light and *couldn't* be good for the innards. An apple sour or something like that. Day-glo green, that crap was. How Reno could possibly drink it without hesitation, Rude would never know - but the liquid disappeared past warm pink lips fairly quickly before demanding a refill.

Odd how a kid half his weight could drink him under the table.

"I'm gonna do it." The sentence came from nearly dead silence, and Rude had to look over at Reno, somewhat confused.

"Hn?"

"Come with me, big guy. Gonna need you there, I think." Determination filled that voice, and Rude had to swallow HARD from the trepidation it brought to him. A determined Reno wasn't always a -safe- Reno.

"What ... where are you going, Reno?" He had to ask. This just smecked of something reckless.

"... Just come with me? Please?" He seemed a little nervous, and Rude could only sigh softly at it, nodding his head. The smile that earned him sent a strange fluttering feeling through him, and he lifted his glass to his lips, swallowing the remaining drink in three quick swallows to ignore that sensation.

"Lead the way," he insisted, only mildly surprised when Reno's hand snared his own (only after that day-glow drink disappeared down his throat for the third time that night) and yanked him toward the door in a strange flurry of excitement. What Reno was preparing, he had no clue... but he worried. His stomach curled into knots as he let the smaller man lead him into the Slums - just what was Reno plotting!?

The question was answered shortly after, however. A short train-ride later, they were standing in front of a rather impressive tattoo parlor. Rude didn't bother to ask how Reno knew of a parlor in the Slums, rather than one on the Plate - his file did say that he was from the Sector two slums, after all. Reno pushed the doors open and actually held the portal ajar till Rude entered behind him. Though Reno couldn't see his eyes, he *did* see the eyebrow Rude had arched.

"I need a reminder, buddy." Buddy? A slight pang of guilt washed through him. Would they still be 'buddies' after Reno found out he was reporting back to Tseng on him? But he nodded slightly, hoping Reno would elaborate.

"I told you before - I won't fuck up again. And I need a reminder why I can't. I need a reminder of that night." Ah. Rude nodded slightly, then watched as Reno went up to the counter to talk with the tattoo artist, gesturing to his eyes, then to Rude, then back to his eyes again. He was always rather animated, but Rude could see there was some special enthusiasm in this. Finally, Reno gestured for Rude to join him as they went to one of the back rooms.

Not a word was spoken as the man prepped Reno's skin for the procedure, cleaning the area around the kid's eyes and marking lightly where the edges of the stain would go. Reno was instructed to keep his face perfectly still - any movement could ruin the markings - and Reno gave a faint nod before the needle-gun approached. The initial movement of that needle drew a cry from Reno's throat, though he forced his face to remain neutral - a testiment to how determined he was to do this. Rude stepped forward, letting one of his large hands grab Reno's pale fingers. It had to hurt. The needle was marking right over the bone, and the skin of the face was so sensitive! But still, Reno sat there, unmoving save to clutch at Rude's hand every so often.

It took longer than Rude ever could have imagined such small tattoos to take. And after it was done, the irritation of the skin around the markings made them seem angry. But Rude could see just how striking the marks would look after the skin had settled. The artist smeared a potion-laced cream over the inflamed flesh, and Rude was only mildly shocked to see the swollen skin soothe almost immediately. He handed Reno a couple of vials. "Use that to clean the area every night so it doesn't get infected. Use the second to keep the skin healthy while it continues to heal. If you have any problems, come see me immediately. I don't want you to risk the things getting infected - infections above the neck are serious business." Reno nodded, then tucked the vials in his pocket, turning to Rude with a weak but happy smile.

"How do they look, buddy?" Rude smiled, then plucked up a mirror set on a countertop near him.

"You look good," he admitted, and Reno actually blushed a little before admiring the strawberry stains curling around his eyes.

"I like it..." he finally announced, a finger raising to lightly brush along one of the marks. They would do nicely as a reminder. "I won't forget now..." he breathed, then nodded and paid the man, plus some extra gil as a hefty tip.

Once outside, he pounced on Rude, slender arms wrapping around that broad chest in a fierce hug. "Thanks. I mean... for coming with me... for holding my hand... for helping.."

Rude chuckled, but returned the embrace, one hand lifting to brush over that fiery red hair. "Anytime, Partner." Reno startled, then smiled a little and rested his head against Rude's chest for a second. It felt good - better than the dancing-around of the attraction he'd been feeling these past few weeks. Rude was warm and solid. Strong.

"Partner? You mean that? You wanna be stuck with me?"

Rude shook his head, but smiled to reassure the suddenly dejected kid in his arms. "Not 'stuck'. Honored." Reno blushed again, and Rude couldn't help it. His breath caught in his throat. Did Reno know just how GOOD he looked like that? The hand that had brushed through that fluffy hair moved to trace feather-light over one of the marks, and he was surprised to see Reno's eyes closing and his head tilting -into- the touch. Was it the alcohol affecting his brain? Or did...

His answer came when Reno lurched forward on his tip-toes and crashed lips against lips. Rude yanked back instantly, too stunned to do anything else. "You're drunk, kid," he insisted, but the kid actually pouted, shaking his head.

"If you don't want to kiss me, just say so," he spat, eyes narrowing slightly before a stab of pain forced him to relax his expression. Rude's heart clenched, both at his own mistake and the pain caused by Reno's.

"It's not that..."

"Then what? You're scared cuz I'm a guy? Or that I'm too young? Or.."

"Because I want you as my Partner! Will they even let us be both..?"

Reno frowned at this, drawing away from Rude's arms, contemplating the idea. Rude made a good point. But soon that dangerously defiant and determined look returned to blazing blue eyes. "I'd like to see them try and stop us... Partner."

The laughter that Rude felt in his throat muffled as Reno moved to kiss him again, and this time Rude did -nothing- to stop it.

[fin]

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AN: You like? Review! I like reviews. They leave an author feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.


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